


Presents, Presents, Presents

by AnabielVriskaMars



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Christmas, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-03
Updated: 2015-11-05
Packaged: 2018-04-29 19:14:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5139422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnabielVriskaMars/pseuds/AnabielVriskaMars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Why.</p><p>Why was he doing this?</p><p>Why was he walking in the middle of the mall, being trampled over by crowds doing last minute christmas shopping just to get a Christmas present for her?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Homecoming

**Author's Note:**

> Seasonal fic, babies
> 
> its only a two parter because the intro took way longer than i wanted it to but i liked it too much to erase.

He was very happy to be back in Gravity Falls.

It had taken a lot of convincing, but in the end, Mom and Dad had finally given in and allowed him and Mabel to come back to Gravity Falls for Christmas break. They were both disappointed at not being all together, but Dipper was  _sure_ that it wasn't  _so_ bad for them not having their 13-year old children running around their fancy Christmas party which was really only for adults.

And this was just fine by the twins.

Returning to Gravity Falls was returning  _home_ for them.

They had found friends and family and just everything they needed in this little town. Spending Christmas here was kind of the coolest thing Dipper could come up with.

As soon as they got off the bus, Mabel dove face-first into the snow.

"Dipper  _look!"_ she yelled, excited. She was making a snow angel, and as soon as she was done, she rolled over her belly and began making a snowman.

How one person could have this amount of energy was far beyond him.

Dipper, for his part, was looking around the snow-covered town, thinking how much  _the same_ it still was since he was here in the summer. He was  _home_. 

A loud scream behind him sucked the joy out of his lungs. It was Mabel. For a moment Dipper froze, thinking Bill had come back.

He twirled around, ready to jump at whoever or whatever had his sister, but stopped dead in his tracks as he saw Mabel's friends rushing towards her, a look of pure, unadulterated glee in their red-cheeked faces and glassy-looking eyes.

Grenda dove face first in the snow next to Mabel. Candy jumped cannonball style. In less than a second the group was assembled an it was as if Mabel had never left.

Dipper picked up MAbel's bag and threw it over his shoulder. "Mabes, I'm gonna take the bags home. You catch up with your friends, okay? just make sure you come home for dinner."

Mabel looked up from the snowman they were making at the side of the road and beamed at Dipper. It struck him hard just how impossible it would've been for him to stay in Gravity Falls after summer, knowingthat she'd go back to California alone.

He walked away, both bags in his shoulders, down the familiar path back to the Shack.

The Shack was pretty much everything to him. It really beat down on him how right it was to be back here. To be back here with  _Mabel_. He smiled to himself.

"You smile like a dork."  The voice came from his side, and his heart stopped for a second. He didn't dare turn around at first.

He'd been gone five months, but that clearly wasn't enough to forget the massive crush he'd developed on Pacifica. Just hearing five words from her threw him back into that panic stricken haze that always came along with she appeared. Oh god, he just wanted to look  _cool_ for once. _  
_

"H-hey," his voice faltered. _Damn you, puberty!_ "What... are you doing here?"

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid_.

Pacifica raised an eyebrow and squinted her eyes a bit. For a second he almost thought she was displeased.

"Don't look so happy to see me." Okay, yeah, she was irritated.

"I'm sorry, you caught me by surprise." He scratched his head, bumping it with Mabel's bag and throwing his hat to the floor.

 _God_ , he was awkward.

Pacifica let out a little snicker, but it wasn't a mean one. This kind of filled him with warm air.

"How are you doing? I haven't seen you since summer." He said, smiling just a little.

Pacifica shrugged, trying to look disinterested. During Summer, though, he had learned to look past this look and realized that she was actually at least a bit pleased to see him. "Its been boring around," she said. In spite of herself, she looked up from the ground at Dipper and smiled a little bit too. "Its good to see you back."

All his "cool, disinterested demeanor" went out the window at her words. He smiled a full-on dork, 32-teeth smile. "Its good to be back."

Pacifica looked down at her feet again. "So," she began, "you're here for Christmas, right?"

"YEah," he answered, abashed, "two weeks. I'm leaving right after New Years."

Pacifica nodded and looked at her shoes. Dipper noticed her lilac earmuffs, a P on one side, and an N on the other, both written in cursive. They looked expensive, but pretty on her. _  
_

"The 24th," she spoke, and he saw her shuffle a little bit, as if she were nervous. "There's a party at the Mansion. Its a dumb thing. My parents throw it every year. Its always boring." She explained. She cleared her throat. "Would you like to come?"

There must've been a breeze that Dipper didn't notice. Her cheeks turned a little redder.

It was really cold, or maybe it was because of all the smiling, but Dipper's cheeks hurt.

"Are your parents okay with that?" He asked.

Pacifica shrugged. "They'll barely notice. Besides, you're my guest."

His heart sang a little. "I'd love to go."

He couldn't tell, but it seemed that under all the clothing, Pacifica let out a breath of relief.

"Alright, I'll see you then." She said, her voice smoother than before. "Don't forget to bring a present." She added.

And that's the moment when he felt as if all the snow fell right over his head.

* * *

Dipper threw open the door to the shack and dropped the bags in the entrance. As if not a day had passed since the summer, he dragged himself to the couch and flopped face down on it.

It was less than a minute when he was picked up by the biggest, friendliest arms in the world and got the best hug he could hope for.

"Lil' dude!" Soos's voice boomed across the house. Eveything was lighter for a moment. Dipper hugged him back.

"Hey Soos." He said, and Soos put him down.

"I i'n't know you w're comin'!" He beamed. Suddenly everything seemed better to Dipper.

"Yeah, we came for winter break. We're staying over until New Years."

"'We'? Oh, y'mean Mabel's here too?" Soos looked even more excited. "Oh man! My birthday wish came true!"

Dipper blinked a couple of times. "Your birthday wish was for me and Mabel to come back for Christmas?"

Soos laughed, embarrassed, and scratched the back of his head, the same way Dipper always did.

"I actually jus' wanted the fam'ly home for th' Holidays," he laughed a little. "Melody's comin' tomorrow so I was just missin' you lil' dudes."

It was as if every step he took in Gravity Falls just chimed another bell to remind him he was home.

Dipper smiled. "Hey, have you seen my uncles?"

"Yeah, dude, their in they're rooms."

Dipper waved goodbye and climbed the all too familiar stairs.

First he knocked on Ford's door.

"I'm  _working_ , Stanley! Whatever it is, it can wait!" There it was, that familiar irritation at Stan. Dipper coulnd't contain his excitement.

"ACtually its me, Grunkle Ford. Dipper." He called. "I was coming over for the holidays, remember?"

There was a second of silence before Dipper heard a chair screech and what sounded like several books falling, quite a few grunts, and the distinct sound of rustling papers. 

A second of silence was followed by the door swinging open to reveal Ford with a  _huge_ smile on his face. _  
_

"Dipper!" He exclaimed, and kneeled over to his height before giving him a loving, paternal hug. "My boy! When did you arrive?"

Dipper hugged him back just as fiercely. "We just got off the bus." Ford held him at an arm's length, studying him with appreciation.

"My, look how you've grown! How long has it been?"

Dipper blushed. "Just five months," he laughed.

There was an unearthly scream from behind Ford, which did not seem to surprise him. In fact, he seemed rather irritated. 

"Please, excuse me, Dipper, I must finish this project  before it consumes the knowledge possessed in my books." He turned around, but before disappearing, looked at Dipper with a little smile. "I am very glad to have you back, my boy. My first Christmas in 30 years, and it is already looking wonderful."

At this point, Dipper thought he ought to be  _genuinely_ concerned that his heart would explode from all the happiness in it. He wasn't though. If his heart was to explode, this was the only way he would ever want it to.

Finally, he knocked on Stan's door.

"I'm comin', I'm comin'," the door flew open and Stan stood there, in his underpants and undershirt, always covered in his robe and with his fedora upon his head, looking confused for a second. "Kid?" he slammed his palm against his face. "Today's the twentieth? Crap, I was supposed to pick you up at the station!"

Dipper jut smiled and hugged him at the waist. Stan relaxed and pat his head affectionately. "Man, it was really hard convincing your parents to send you kids back here. But I guess it did help that you kids kept bugging them."

"Thanks for bringing us," Dipper said with raw sincerity. "I missed you so much."

Stan cleared his throat, the way Dipper knew he always did when he was getting emotional. "Alright, alright kid, move along." Dipper let go. "Where's your sister?"

"Oh, she ran off when she saw her friends, but she'll be over for dinner."

Stan sighed. "Well, then I suppose I should probably go to the supermarket for something for you kids. Damn it, I'd forgotten that taking care of kids was a hassle." Stan grumbled, but Dipper knew it was all in good humor.

When Dipper got to his and Mabel's room in the attic, his heart popped with joy and he threw himself in bed, looking at the roof like it was the most wonderful thing he had ever seen.

* * *

 

Mabel crashed in an hour later.

The sheer joy in her face mimicked Dipper's feelings exactly, and it was as if the strings of their twinhood had redone themselves stronger than ever.

She flopped in his bed, happy as a clam, and began gushing excitedly. About her friends, about the town. She even mentioned Wendy one or two times, before looking at him crefully, as if waiting for a reaction.

"Mabel, I'm way over Wendy," he said gently, and Mabel sighed relieved.

"That's great, I didn't want you freaking out over what to get her for Christmas. This trip was so sudden I couldn't even get my friends something! I'm going to the mall, though. Good thing they're easy to get gifts to."

Maybe it was the mention of gifts.

Maybe it was the mention of Wendy.

It was probably both of them combined.

Both thoughts sort of merged into his head like mac&cheese, and only one hybrid could come out.

His face paled a little, he knew, and Mabel looked concerned, but he couldn't answer at the moment.

Just  _what_ on earth was he going to get Pacifica for Christmas?

 


	2. Choose Wisely, Pines

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> since we don't have that much info on Paz, I took a few liberties

It had been three days and he  _still_ hadn't found the perfect gift.

He'd gotten everyone something. They were, of course, small things, but they were little presents he thought they might like. The most difficult out of the bunch was Mabel, but he could always find something out of the heart. He was pretty sure he could've gotten her a macaroni picture and she would've loved it.

Not that he got her a macaroni picture.

He just could have.

But he didn't.

Actually, he didn't really  _get_ her something.

Whatever happened this christmas, he knew that he was going to spend it with Mabel, wherever that was. Either here or in  California, he and Mabel never missed a Christmas together, so he'd been working on something for a while.

It was, he admitted, completely embarassing, and he was  _definitely_ not the guy for arts and crafts but... ugh.

He'd made her a scrapbook, okay?

Well no, not really a scrapbook.

A photoalbum with dates written on them, and events. There was almost nothing from California though. Almost everything in that book was from their Summer.

Dipper really, really hoped Mabel would like it, even though she obviously could've made something better.

That only left Pacifica.

What, exactly, did one get their crush, who happened to be the richest girl in town and probably half the continent?

He'd walked around every store, trying to get a clue. It couldn't be  _too_ much, cause they were friends, right? But what constituted as "too much"? Besides,  _what_ that he could actually  _afford_ could be too much to give her?

She didn't particularly love reading, he didn't know of any particular hobbies of hers other than singing, and her interests were all too expensive. She liked stargazing, but he couldn't afford a telescope --even if he could, she probably already had a more expensive one already. He knew she liked pastel colors and eyeshadows, but he'd  _seen_ her collection. It did  _not_ need any adding. She also liked unic--

There was an idea.

He left the mall and ran home to Mabel.

* * *

"Mabel!" He yelled, almost crashing against the wall. He climbed the stairs to the attic frantically. "Mabel! Mabel!"

When he opened the door to their room, breathless, he found Mabel sitting on the floor, painting Waddles's nails red and green. He didn't ask.

"Woah, Bro-katoa!" She grinned. "What's up?"

Dipper rested his arms on his knees and caught his breath. "Ma-Mabel," he wheezed. "I need your help."

Mabel twisted her nailpolish shut and Waddles simply stood and walked over to the corner, where he promptly flopped down and went to sleep, somehow carefully enough not to damage his nails.

That was a weird pig, and Dipper would never understand just  _how_ Mabel had managed to bring it back and forth to California.

But that wasn't important.

"Mabel, I need your help." He repeated. Mabel grinned metallically.

"You know I'm always your guy!" she winked at him. "What do you need?"

He stopped for a moment, considering.

If he asked Mabel for help, he;'d have to confess to liking Pacifica.

He was desperate. This was going to be awkward.

"I need you to take me to that place with the unicorns, okay?"

Mabel stared for a second. "Sure Dip, but why?"

He rubbed his forehead. "I... I think I can get the present I'm missing there."

Mabel laughed and blushed, looking away. "Aw, shucks bro, you don't have to go  _all the way_ _there_ to get me a present!"

"Its not for you," he bumbled. Dipper looked outside. The sun would be setting soon and he'd have to start getting ready for the party. "Come on, Mabes, I'm running out of time! I need to get it before it gets dark, and I don;t even know what "it" is!"

Mabel hopped on the floor, and Dipper actually thought he'd get away without having to explain, but Mabel pointed an accusing finger.

"Who are you getting something for in the unicorn meadow if its not for me."

Dipper ran a hand through his head, knocking his hat off. He shuffled a bit and put it back on his head. "Its for Pacifica," he blurted out. "She invited me to a party tonight, and I've been looking for the perfect present but I haven't found anything and its just  _really_ important that I get her something nice because I don;t know when I'm gonna see her again and I don't want to be the dork she remembers only by having given her a lousy christmas gift!"

One second, two, three...

"Okay, let's go!" Mabel chirped, and flew out the door. He heard her call from the hallway, "come on! You're gonna be late!"

Dipper was nonplussed by the lack of follow-up in that conversation, but he chased after Mabel anyways.

He was running out of time.

* * *

Honestly, what he saw on the unicorn meadow was terrifying.

Not the unicorns.

Just.. the fact that they were  _terrified_ of Mabel.

The second she walked in, he could see them scatter and hide behind trees, under a waterfall... He saw one of them lift a rock with his mouth, climb down its hole, and then replace the rock over its head.  _One climbed into a rainbow and galloped away_.

And Mabel just strutted in like nobody's business. Something caught her eye and she called Dipper to her. He kneeled on the floor and stared at the object of her admiration.

When she spoke, it was with awe.

"Look," she pointed at a gorgeous, rainbow colored plant that was genuinely  _glowing_. Something in Dipper's memory sparked up.

"Wait, I know this plant!" he exclaimed, excited. "Its a Rainrose! Oh my God MAbel, do you know what it is?"

Mabel shrugged, as if she wasn't staring at one of the most wonderful things ever.

"Its what unicorns feed off of. They say its a plant that thrives only on affection and sunlight." He was so excited, "Mabel this is it!"

His joy was dampened by a sense of dread. 

"I have no way of taking it!"

Mabel presented him with a jar that she just so happened to be carrying. He looked at her, inquiringly.

"Don't ask questions, bro. Just take it."

With utmost care and concentration, Dipper gently took the Rainrose and put it in the jar.

* * *

On the way back, he hugged the jar as if it were the most precious thing in the world. He couldn't stop smiling.

The sun was setting, and the gentle glow of the Rainrose illuminated their path.

"Mabe, I can't thank you enough." He said, still looking at the jar. "This is perfect!"

Mabel just smiled a little. "I didn't know you had a crush on Pacifica." 

He heard the hurt. Damn.

"It was too embarrassing.. especially after all that went on with Wendy." He explained. Mabel, of course, undesrtood. She always did.

"Hey, you can have 45 crushes a day and it will still not be too annoying to deal with, okay? You're my bro-bro. I'll support you six-ever."

Dipper half smiled at her as they approached the Shack.

Mabel turned to him.

"Better hurry. Its Christmas Eve."

And hurry he did.

* * *

Walking into the Northwest Manor was still daunting as ever.

Unlike the rest of the guests, the bouncer hadn't announced him. Rather, he'd just checked a smaller list, printed in nicer paper with purple borders (which he was sure was Pacifica's) before waving him in.

He tightened his grip on his bag.

This was really, truly scary.

"Dipper!" Pacifica came from the side, he could swear there was relief in her features. The smile fell into his lips easily, as if it had been waiting to pounce.

Of course she looked wonderful.

It wasn't the dress, or her eyeshadow, or the way her hair was done. He didn't know what it was, but she looked wonderful, and it was like all the little bulbs in a Christmas tree had lighted up inside of him.

"H-hey," he said, embarrassed. She looked at him inquiringly. More pointedly, she looked at his bag, confused. "Oh this? It's, uh, it--s, y-your uh, your present." He cleared his throat. "I uh, kind of wanted to give it to you in person, if that's okay."  Oh god he was so awkward his words were tripping against one another and he not only  _looked_ like a nerd, but now he  _sounded_ like one, too.

Pacifica tucked a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear and cleared her throat. It was probably the lighting, but she looked a little red.

"Sure, come on, let's go," she said, and led the way to the deposit they'd found themselves in last time he'd been here.

They walked in, finally alone, and it slapped him across the face how suggestive it was. He blushed deeply, hoping that she couldn't see it.

"Well? I'm waiting," she pressed, but her tone was wavering, as if in nervousness.

Dipper gently put his bag against the floor and kneeled next to it.

"I, uh, I don't know if you're going to like it..." What? Just an hour ago he was  _sure_ it was perfect! "It, uh, I--"

Pacifica tucked another strand of hair behind her ear. One that did not need tucking. "Get on with it," she urged, but her voice was very gentle.

Dipper took a deep breath and released the jar from his bag. Immediately, Pacifica's gasp filled the empty air.

He was overtaken by the sudden need to explain everything.

"I got this from the unicorn meadow." He blabbered, "I don;t know if you know about it but there's a unicorn meadow in the forrest and there are unicorns there and this is what they eat and I'd read about it and it really doesn't need much caring just like leave it in your window so it gets sunlight but only if you like it if you don't just put it in the garden and I don;t know I'll pick it up in the morning and take it back, oh god this was a terrible idea, I'm so sorry--"

He wanted to continue ranting, but Pacifica's hand was well pressed against his mouth. She held the jar on her other hand and watched it with absorbed interest and a shade of awe.

Her hand fell away, but she still hadn't torn her eyes from the jar.

"You got me this...?" She asked, almost under her breath.

"I know you don't like unicorns anymore..." he said and scratched the back of his head, "but I thought it was... a nice addition. To your collection. You know, the things your nanny had given you."

There was a moment of silence, and then Pacifica regained her composure. She cleared her throat and looked at him, an indescribable emotion behind her eyes.

"I'm going to keep it by my desk." She informed him. "I'll take it to my room now. Wait for me." She commanded, and Dipper stood alone in the empty room, thinking.

He came across a thought that said that she could've asked someone to take it up for her, and a little replying voice suggesting that maybe she didn't want anyone else touching it.

Dipper thought about her unguarded, beautiful expression for a moment and felt as if there was sugar in his bloodstream. He couldn't stop a smile.

When she came back, there was a box in her hands. 

It was a lovely box, with colorful wrapping paper and a red bow at the top. A card placed neatly next to the bow read "Dipper" in a beautiful, cursive letter.

He stared at it for a moment.

Pacifica cleared her throat. "its nothing big," she said, playing it down. "Its just... I don't know, something."

Dipper reached for the bow and stopped. He looked at Pacifica.

"Hey..." he said, shyly. "I know its definitely not the same as here, but we're having a little get together at the Shack. Just my sister, my uncles, and pretty much everybody who wants to crash... Its super lame, but a lot of fun... do you wanna go?"

She blinked a couple of times. 

"I mean, I completely understand if you wanna stay... I just figured I'd offer."

Pacifica rubbed her arm, a bit awkwardly. He'd never seen her look like this. It was adorable.

"Your.. Your family wouldn't mind?"

He smiled. "They won't. Besides, you're my guest." He echoed her words from three days ago, and offered her his hand. She smiled shyly and took it. With his present under his arm, he and Pacifica walked out of the most unnecessarily uppity party in the history of America.

* * *

"Kid! You're here!" Grunkle Stan's voice boomed across the living room and reached him and Pacifica. "Come here, settle a bet between me and Ford--- whoa!" Stan looked at Pacifica, surprised. "If you'd told me we were having company I'd dressed better!"

Ford turned and looked at Pacifica and a smile bloomed from his lips, paternal as ever. He knelt to the ground in front of her and offered her his hand. "Hello, young lady. I'm Stanford, but please, call me Ford. I'm Dipper and Mabel's uncle."

Pacifica blinked a couple of times before taking his hand carefully.

"Hey watch out," Stan said, "you're gonna scare the poor girl off. Wouldn't be the first one!" Stan's laugh boomed across the house, and Ford grumbled, all in good humor.

Before he noticed, Dipper's hand was on Pacifica's shoulder, and he was leading her away from his uncles. They ran into Mabel and her friends.

There was a moment of terse silence, gazes holding, Pacifica looking regal-- until Mabel smiled.

"Hey! I'm so glad you could make it!" Mabel grinned. Dipper supposed she'd briefed in her friends, cause the tension dropped easily.

"You have nice dress," Candy said. Pacifica looked down at herself, a little confused, as if trying to figure out if it was an insult.

"We've got some caramel apples!" Grenda yelled. "Would you like some?" She held the tray in front of Pacifica, who looked at them, laughably between confused and intimidated. Dipper stepped in.

"Maybe after dinner." He snickered. The girls smiled and returned to their gossip, Mabel shoving fistfulls of marshmallows into her mouth.

He figured it was all too much for Pacifica at the moment, and walked her upstairs, to that little spot on the roof that Wendy had once shown him when he'd first got here.

They sat down quietly, Pacifica careful not to wrinkle her dress as she sat in the fold-up chair.

"Your family's.... interesting." She tested. Dipper laughed.

"Yeah, they're nuts. I'm sorry."

Pacifica smiled, looking up at the sky. "I like it. Its different. They're... warm."

"YEah, I can't really argue with that." He said.

"Are you gonna open your present?" She tried to sound bored, but there was a little strain in her voice.

Frankly, he'd completely forgotten that he'd been carrying around a rather heavy box for the last hour. He'd been much too entranced with the fact that his other hand had been safely tucked into Pacifica's.

Pushing the box to his lap, he undid the paper carefully and opened the box. Inside it was a brand new, waterproof, digital camera. He froze.

"I can't accept this." His voice was strained and the reaction automatic. "Its too much."

Pacifica frowned. "Yes you can."

Dipper looked at her. "This is too much, Paz! This must've been really expensive."

Pacifica crossed her arms and glared fiercely. "Dipper," she growled his name and it only made him even more dizzy, "you went into a  _unicorns's meadow_ to find me a plant probably nobody knows is there. This is  _not_ too much." She pressed. "My parents have the money and they don't care what I spend it on. And I want to spend it on that."

Her tone of voice said there was no room for discussion. Dipper looked at the camera, still in the box. Pacifica's tone unwound.

"You're always talking about these things that nobody else seems to see." She explained, and this time, he was  _sure_ he was seeing her blush. "I just... think it would be a good idea for you to be able to take pictures of weird things... and..." She cleared her throat. Dipper waited.

Pacifica rolled her eyes. "And, you can download the pictures into your computer."

Awkwardly, she gestured to a little card inside the box. He hadn't noticed it, but now he realized it was there, and it smelled a lot like lavander.

The little card had an email address printed on it. Dipper was at a loss for words.

"You can, like," she cleared her throat, "I don;t know, send me things from California." This time it was she who was babbling. "I've been to Paris but never to California. Its weird. I don;t know, maybe you can show me weird things that happen there."

At that precise moment, Dipper could've sworn that there was no space inside of him for all his thoughts and feelings. It wasn't possible to contain this amount of emotion and feeling and dizziness and... overwhelming-ness 

As if his mind had just gone on autopilot, Dipper smiled and turned to her.

"Thank you," he said, and there was a little Dipper in his head screaming and running around freaking out, because he had to do  _something_. No, he couldn't do  _anything_. It was the moment.  _No it wasn't._

He looked down at the camera one more time, awestruck. When he looked up at Pacifica, she was looking at him a little weird.

"Hey, what's this?" she asked, and reached over him to something in his hair. The wind carried the scent of lavander and it was almost enough to knock him off the roof. When Pacifica held the little branch between them, Dipper blushed too deeply.

"That's, uh," Dipper stammered, but couldn't bring himself to say it.

Pacifica was also blushing, but she wasn't stammering. "A mistletoe." She affirmed.

Dipper laughed nervously. "It must've gotten caught up in my hair on the way here..."

They both stared at the little twig for a few seconds, and it was Dipper who looked away first, but only because he couldn't help stealing a glance from Pacifica.

And when she felt his eyes, she looked at him too, and somehow that blue, and the forrest-green eyeshadow, and the cold winter night, and how he'd held her hand half the night, and the presents they'd exchanged, and his day chasing the meadow, and all these days of just being full of joy made him just brave enough to take the twig from her fingers and hold it a little over their heads.

He was terrified she'd get angry. That she should laugh at him. That she would never want to see him again, or whatever. He was so scared he closed his eyes.

A second later he forgot about being scared, because there was a sweet pressure against his lips, and the wafting smell of lavander surrounding him.

It was only a few seconds, but they were enough to fill up his joy-meter to the brim. When Pacifica pulled back, she was blushing too.

"I liked that you called me Paz," she mumbled. Dipper smiled, and reached for her hand. She relaxed into his grip.

Cursing at himself for not thinking about it earlier, Dipper pulled out his camera, and directed it towards them.

"Taking pictures of weird things already?" She joked.

He turned and smiled at her. "This  _is_ the strangest thing that's ever happened to me."

Dipper smiled at the camera and Paz pecked his cheek for the picture. In the next one, they were just both smiling with a little blush, that could just as easily have been confused with cold.

It was the best Christmas of his life.

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
